Proposing Preliminary Exposition: a Critical Thought to "Ordinary" Exposition

Minggu 03-02-08 21:57, oleh Wahyu Adi Putra...

1. An Opening For most fiction writers, I believe, jotting down the very beginning part of the story is often belaboring. Many of them are confused about how to conduct a good starting point in order to create such an interesting, enticing, and probably comfortable opening for readers. The beginning is very much important (even crucial) either for the writers: to ease them continuing the rest of the story, or, of course, for the readers: to get an attractive first impression when reading literary works. The first impression is considered remarkable seen from the point of view of social psychology since after all kinds of other impressions settle, the last impression will probably resemble the first (Novakovich, 1995: 152). It is then striking our mind that it is not only the writers who belabor their openings, borrowing Novakovichs term, to make them stunning, but also the readers, who attempt to derive clues from the beginning part of the story, locating themselves in the logical chronology so that the flow of the story will not be confusing. In this case, readers are quite aware in discovering leading clues in the opening of a story. This awareness lets readers seek for information that serves as an usher to the essence of the story. Readers are then careful enough that they are able to distinguish various functional utilizations of an opening related to the intrinsic elements of the fiction. In fact, due to the attempt of particularly creative writers in inventing new styles of writing, not every storys beginning can be easily recognized: either its existence or its function. This difficult effort of recognizing a beginning of a story is somehow creating burdens for readers to systematically comprehend the flow of the story. Some writers utilize long introductory paragraphs as an opening part for their story, and, frequently, those paragraphs belabor readers in absorbing the deliberate intention of using such paragraphs actually acting as an implicit opening. 2. A Part of Plot: an Exposition From the starting point that I have described above, we can observe how a beginning part commits noticeable influences for the sake of creating ideal writings. Further observations will emerge an understanding that, actually, even supporting its importance in writing and reading literary works, an opening belongs to one of the elements of fictions named plot. I call plot as one of common and even rather obligatory elements constituting the whole organ of the story. Plot is prominent for its function as a kind of guidance for readers to follow and comprehend the current of the story. Furthermore, if theoretically linked to plot, an opening is conventionally called as an

exposition. To give a clear comprehension about what an exposition is, I provide some concepts formulated by some theorists. Yelland, in A Handbook of Literary Terms, altogether with the definition of plot, asserts that exposition is one of the divisions of plot in which the characters are introduced, the background sketched, and the problems stated (1953). Specifically, in terms of drama, he explains that an exposition is a cluster of explanations concerning the scene and inter -relationship of the characters. An exposition is more naturally given in the opening dialogue of a play, but it can be presented in the prologue (1953). Another concept is excerpted from Koesnoesoebroto, who suggests that, in exposition, a writer presents the readers with the characters background and their situations. He considers exposition as the introductory part of a story in which readers get to know the characters, problems, and situations (1988: 44). The last concept described is the one that I derive from Novakovichs idea which suggests that writers usually use several elements presenting the exposition, such as setting, ideas, strong sensations, a need of motive, action, sex, symbolic object, character portrait, question, scene, travel, characters thought, prediction, and anecdote (1955: 156 -163). 3. An Observation through Poes The Murders in the Rue Morgue It was striking my awareness when I noticed that this particular detective short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, the pioneer and inventor of the concept of detective stories, had given so many problems for English Letters students in my campus. Since those students are apparently non-native speakers, it is then reasonably understood that most of them were distracted by the complicated sentential language codification and strange, gothic, and even archaic vocabularies utilized by the author. I prefer to conclude that, seen from his literary works, Poe is an American writer that really used his rich knowledge of vocabularies and grammar when jotting down his complex sentences creating his works. A full comprehension of analyzing sentences syntactically should be needed especially for the non-Englishspeaking readers to comprehend the essence of the text. However, one thing that makes my observation relevant to the explanations I gave in part 1 and 2 of this essay is that most of those students spent too much time, and even gave up, when attempting to have an idea about the first four paragraphs written in the text. Surely, talking about the location where we can find an opening, we will directly refer to a convention that it must be placed in the first part of the writing, in this case, the first paragraphs of the story, but, the fact that those students did not figure out any relation between the first four paragraphs to the real flow of the story makes me curious about the use of those paragraphs. Though some critics come up with a conclusive remark that that kind of long introduction only acts as irritating encumbrances to the modern readers of detective fictions (Wright,

http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/grtdtecs.htm), I firmly believe that writers surely have a deliberate intention in writing whatever details appearing in the literary work, and that is what perpetuates my curiosity. Apparently, if a careful reading is done to this short story, it is found that the exposition seems to be divided into two parts. I figure out that the first four paragraphs is not directly, in terms of its relation with the main story, linked to the real exposition of the story the one which describes explicitly the setting of time and place, the characters, and, since the short story is a detective fiction, preliminary information to the criminal case (the murders). In the first four paragraphs of the short story, we can find sentences, mostly grammatically complicated ones, that bring ideas, for examples, sentences like: The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis., or, As the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst in that moral activity which disentangles., or, The analytical power should not be confounded with simple ingenuity; for while the analyst is necessarily ingenious, the ingenious man often remarkably incapable of analysis., etc (Eichenberg, 1944). An opening an exposition can be done by using ideas as its element. Though it tends to be too intellectual, dry, and essayistic, an idea-opening can also present poly- purposes, such as: portrayals on the speaker and also portrayals on the theme and place (Novakovich, 1990: 157). Therefore, the four paragraphs containing ideas in The Murders in the Rue Morgue can be considered as an exposition too. Yet, what makes it different from the other paragraphs acting as the real exposition is that it is not explicitly directly connected to the main story. 4. The Preliminary Exposition Since the appearance of the first four paragraphs is distinctive to the other ones serving as the real exposition, then, I argumentatively assert that the term used to call this kind of opening should not be exposition though it surely does act as one. An attribute will be added to the term, which is preliminary. So, the term exposition will be extended to preliminary exposition. However, I need to prove why I should come up with this new term, and, of course, I need to depict the characteristics owned by each kind of exposition, the ordinary and the preliminary one, that will justify the differences appearing between them. Moreover, I will do further by trying to disclose the function of the preliminary exposition since, as I have said before in part 3 (that writers should have a deliberate intention when jotting down whatever details in their works), there must be something that can be derived as a significant clue for the continuation of the story in Poes The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

a. The First Four Paragraphs of The Murders in the Rue Morgue: Sentences Containing Ideas My main focus is on the first four paragraphs of the story which then bring troubles for readers in understanding its relationship to the main story. First of all, let us go to the details described in the paragraphs. These four paragraphs consist of forty four sentences. The specific partition is like this: twenty sentences for paragraph 1, nineteen sentences for paragraph 2, four sentences for paragraph 3, and one last sentence forming paragraph 4. Most of these sentences contain ideas uttered by the author. Should we still remember about the theory of an opening suggested by Novakovich: though it tends to be too intellectual, dry, and essayistic, and opening with ideas can also present poly-purposes, such as: portrayals on the speaker and also the portrayals on the theme and place (Novakovich, 1990: 157), then we can find the relevance of why those sentences containing ideas in the first four paragraph of the story can be considered as a part of the exposition. Yet, this is not enough. We still need to analyze the sentences so that the conclusion saying that the sentences carry ideas can be justified. I will try to analyze one sentence from each paragraph that is representative to my argument. 1. The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. (sentence number 1: par.1) This sentence is presented in a form of positive statement depicting about the idea of a particular mental feature called as the analytical. It is then arguing that this mental feature is little susceptible, which means that it is not easily influenced by other suggestions. 2. The best chess-player in Christendom may be little more than the best player of chess; but proficiency in whist implies capacity for success in all these more important undertakings where mind struggles with mind. (sentence number 23: par. 2) In this sentence, the idea presented is about the comparison of chess and whist in which the writer argues that proficiency in whist will defeat the one in chess since, according to the statement, in whist, mind struggles with mind. 3. The analytical power should not be confounded with simple ingenuity; for while the analyst is necessarily ingenious, the ingenious man often remarkably incapable of analysis. (sentence number 40: par. 3) This sentence presents the idea that a simple ingenuity is not enough to form the analytical power because, though the analyst is necessarily ingenious, sometimes more capability out of an ordinary ingenuity is needed to formulate the analytical power. It gives a reason why a simple ingenuity is not sufficient, which is the ingenious man often remarkably incapable of analysis. 4. The narrative which follows will appear to the reader somewhat in the light of a commentary upon the

propositions just advanced. (sentence number 44: par. 4) This sentence serves as a bridge which connects the long introductory sentences to the main part of the story. From those four sentences, I come up with the conclusion that the sentences used in the four paragraphs mostly consist of ideas suggested by the writer as an introductory writing. b. Distinguishing the Preliminary Exposition to the Real Exposition b. 1. The Nature of Preliminary Exposition There are, of course, several characteristics owned specifically by preliminary exposition which distinguish its existence and function to the exposition ordinarily used. Yet, it is essential for us to know that I am trying to formulate a new theoretical term the preliminary exposition from one particular literary work, and then carefully I also formulate the nature of the preliminary exposition by analyzing the connection existing between the first four paragraphs with the main stream of the story in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Therefore, the validity of the new theory I try to systematize is quite relative because the source of the study is only one particular literary work. Regarding to the theories about exposition suggested by some experts I have displayed in part 2: the one asserted by Yelland, saying that exposition is one of the divisions of plot in which the characters are introduced, the background sketched, and the problems stated (1953), and the other one excerpted from Koesnoebrotos which suggests that in exposition, a writer presents the readers with the characters background and their situations, and exposition also acts as the introductory part of a story in which readers get to know the characters, problems, and situations (1988: 44), we may find several distinctive features that can be found in a preliminary paragraph. From the forty-four sentences constituting the organ of the preliminary exposition in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, related to the theory of an ordinary exposition uttered by Yelland, we may agree that there is no background sketched, no character introduced, no problems stated, and no explanations co ncerning the scene and interrelationship of the characters found. The sentences presented in the first four paragraphs do not possess the essence which can lead readers to the portrayal of what current the story will be like. The background of the conflict is not stated. Though there seems to be a narrator who might be one of the characters of the story, indicated by the appearance of the pronoun I (this assumption might even be fragile), there is no physical and or mental detail depicting the existence of a fictional character. Furthermore, instead of being explicit to the description of the inter-relationship among the characters, those sentences, being so much lecturing, present ideas about being analytical, how the effect of the analytic power is appreciated, how an analyst enjoys his being under riddling situation, how chess differs to draught and whist, etc. Even

though, this incapability of the preliminary exposition in qualifying the standard of an exposition, as the theories say, is then countered by its ability, in a deep reading, to characterize the mental nature of the main character, but we will discuss about this more after we finish discussing the differences between preliminary exposition and the real exposition. b. 2. The Real Exposition Basically, as the theory says, an exposition will contain the information of the introduction to the characters, the background, the problems, and explanations concerning the scene and inter -relationship of the characters (Yelland, 1953). Therefore, the application of this theory is also true in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. The real exposition in the story meets all of those acquisitions, as shown in these excerpt paragraphs: 1. Residing in Paris during the spring and part of the summer of 18--, I there became acquainted with a Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin. This young gentleman was of an excellent indeed of an illustrious family, but, by a variety of untoward events, had been reduced to such poverty that the energy of his character succumbed beneath it, and he ceased to bestir himself in the world, or to care of the retrieval of his fotunes. Analyzing this excerpt paragraph, we can identify the setting of place (Paris), and the setting of time, which is unclear (18--). We are also introduced to the characters of the story which are the unnamed narrator I, and his acquaintance Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin. We can also recognize Dupins background as in This young gentleman was of an excellent indeed of an illustrious family, but, by a variety of untoward events, had been reduced to such poverty Moreover, we can also figure out the relationship between the characters as in I there became acquainted with 2. EXTRAORDINARY MURDERS. This morning, about three oclock, the inhabitants of the Quartier St. Roch were aroused from sleep by a succession of terrific shrieks, issuing, apparently, fronm the fourth story of a house in the Rue Morgue, known to be in the sole occupancy of one Madame LEspanaye, and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille LEspanaye. This paragraph brings us to the problem of the story. Since the work is a detective story, then the problem will be a crime-case. Here, we are acknowledged with the murders taking location in Rue Morgue. We are also introduced to the victims: Madame LEspanaye, and Mademoiselle Camille LEspanaye. Since all of the requirements are fulfilled, I consider The Murders in the Rue Morgue applying the ordinary theoretical exposition. Therefore, being different from the ideas presented in the first four paragraphs of

the story, there should be a differentiation between the preliminary exposition and the real exposition due to the fact that the real one does exist in the story. 5. Preliminary Exposition as a Partial Characterization of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin in The Murders in the Rue Morgue This part will show readers the reason why I insist to appreciate the existence of the preliminary exposition. What most of the students that I observed did not realize is that actually the first four paragraphs are actually characterizing the main character of the story: Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin. Then, we might come up with a question asking how such sentences containing lecturing ideas characterize Dupins nature. The answer of this question actually lies on the individual reading comprehension ability of detective stories readers. We can use many lexical clues from those sentences that are related to the Dupins characteristics, particularly his mental natures. Yet, before we jump ourselves into the tank of analytic discussion about this topic, let me provide some theories about character and characterization so that no misunderstanding about the concept of character and characterization occurs. There are some points that can be concluded from the ideas about character suggested by Stanton. They are itemized as follows: 1. The term character is used to designate the individuals who appear in the story. 2. The term character refers to the mixture of interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles that makes up each of these individuals. 3. A central character is the one which is relevant to every event in the story. 4. Dividing the ways discovering the evidences into three parts, such as: the name of the character, the authors clear description of and comment upon the character, the other characters, the minor ones, attitudes toward the character analyzed (Stanton, An Introduction to Fiction, 1965, p. 17-18). There are some points that can be concluded from the ideas about characterization which can be itemized as follows: 1. Characterization is the representation in fiction or drama of human character or personality (Webster, 1995, p. 229). 2. All phases that transform real-life people into characters in fiction can be called as characterization. In characterizing a fictional figure, the description must be described and explained in details. 3. Sometimes, the effort in recognizing the characterization done to a particular fictional figure will involve readers. There are some moments when readers should work it all out for themselves by doing

deliberate efforts in seeking for the information, details, which characterize the character they are analyzing (Grenville, The Writing Book, 1998, p. 36-38). Before we arrive to the effort done to justify that the preliminary exposition characterizes the main character in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, I will formulate Dupins mental natures that are derived from the characterizing sources informed in the main story (the first four paragraphs: excluded). From the direct presentation of the author, the sayings of the narrator, the action done by Dupin, and the utterances declared by Dupin himself, though the evidences are not presented in this essay, I my conclude that there are several mental features included in Dupins characterization, which are: genius (a prodigy), analytical, solving problems using his analytical talent particularly for self-satisfaction, intuitive observant, rational indicated by his using knowledge (sources) as the basis of his considerations in deciding something. Then, when we refer to the sentences presented in the first four paragraphs, we will find some similarities, in the form of its presentation, between Dupins mental characteristics and the ideas asserted. Let us analyze representative sentences like follows: 1. The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. (sentence number 1: par.1) 2. We appreciate them only in their effects. (sentence number 2: par.1) 3. We know of them, among other things, that they are always to their possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment (sentence number 3: par. 1) 4. As the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst in that moral activity which disentangles (sentence number 4: par. 1) 5. He derives pleasure from even the most trivial occupations bringing his talents into play (sentence number 5: par. 1) 6. He is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in this solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural (sentence number 6: par. 1) 7. His results, brought about by the very soul and essence of method, have, in truth, the whole air of intuition (sentence number 7: par. 1) 8. Deprived of ordinary sources, the analyst throws himself into the spirit of his opponent, identifies himself therewith, and not unfrequently sees thus, at a glance, the sole methods (sometimes indeed absurdly simple ones) by which he may seduce into error on hurry into miscalculation (sentence number 20: par. 1) 9. He makes, in silence, a host off observations and inferences (sentence number 29: par. 2)

10. The necessary knowledge is that of what to observe (sentence number 31: par. 2). From the bolded dictions or phrases, we may derive several essences of mental natures that are similar to what I have formulated from the characterizing source of the main story. Dictions like the mental features, analytical, little susceptible of analysis, appreciate, effects, inordinately possessed, liveliest enjoyment, glories, analyst, disentangles, pleasure, trivial occupations, talents, play, acumen, the whole air of intuition, identifies, the spirit of his opponent, seduce into error, miscalculation, a host off observations and inferences, necessary knowledge, and observe, lead specifically to Dupins particular mental natures. The matching will be as follows: 1. Genius (a prodigy) >< inordinately possessed, the mental features, analytical, little susceptible of analysis. 2. Analytical >< analytical, analyst. 3. Solving problems using his analytical talent particularly for self-satisfaction >< liveliest enjoyment, glories, disentangles, pleasure, trivial occupations, play, acumen. 4. Intuitive observant, rational - indicated by his using knowledge (sources) as the basis of his considerations in deciding something >< the whole air of intuition, identifies, the spirit of his opponent, seduce into error, miscalculation, a host of observations and inferences, necessary knowledge. 6. Concluding Remark Of course, the comparison is done based on the semantic similarity possessed by words in each group. This effort is done to attempt to perceive the observable clue existed in the preliminary exposition. The logic is like this: if the ideas contained by the sentences in the first four paragraphs are relevant to those of the real exposition, in terms of the disclosure of Dupins characteristics, it will be perm issible to conclude that the first four paragraphs is deliberately presented to preliminarily transfer certain information, concerning about the story, to the audiences first reading. However, this information is disguised in such lexically and grammatically frustrating concept of sentences, and this fact is what makes amateur readers tend to neglect ideas provided in the preliminary exposition. This style of plot-placement is even similar to that of developed detective stories. It is common in stories of ratiocination that the clues of the resolution of the case are scattered in the beginning of the investigation, but, since smartly disguised, they are invisible and, thus, unthinkable. Interestingly, not until the very final step of the detectives analysis do the readers (re)comprehend the meaningful hints provided previously. Perhaps, even in the way he plotted the story, Poe applied this particular concept. He veiled the clues to recognize his hero with those seemingly unimportant paragraphs, and he let

readers swim the whole story until, in a certain point, they realized that Dupin had already been characterized even before they were introduced to the case. The conclusion of the essay will result in a definition of what a preliminary exposition and a partial characterization are. Preliminary Exposition is a part of exposition in fictions that serves as implicitly ideas, and or information about one or more elements of the works content, and Partial Characterization is an act of constructing a fictional character by applying only one element of what real-life people have in reality into the character intended. As I have confessed before, the validity of these new theoretical terms is still fragile. Therefore, more analyses in more literary works, especially detective ones, are needed to be conducted to invent a scientifically sufficient definition. I am not trying to judge that this kind of opening belongs to Poes style of writing since in the sequels of this detective short story there is no such opening resembling to the one he did on The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Bibliography 1. Greenville, Kate. The Writing Book: a workbook for fiction writers. Victoria: Allen & Unwin, 1998. 2. Koesnoebroto, Sunaryo. The Anatomy of Prose Fiction. Jakarta: Dep. Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1988. 3. Novakovich, Josip. Fiction Writers Workshop. Ohio: Story Press, 1995. 4. Stanton, Robert. An Introduction to Fiction. New York: Holt, Rineheart and Winston, Inc., 1965. 5. Webster, Merriam. Encyclopedia of Literature. Massachusetts: Meriam-Webster, Inc., 1995. 6. Wright, Willard Huntington, The Great Detective Stories. 1 September, 2002. The Art of the Mystery Story, 1946. downloaded on 22 May 2006. 7. Yelland, H. L., et al. A Handbook of Literary Terms. Sydney: Angus & Roberson, 1953. see the complete Poe's The Murders in Rue Morgue by clicking this: the story Rata-rata